Netanyahu: 'October 7 probably would not have happened under Trump'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the massacre perpetrated by Hamas on October 7, 2023 "probably would not" have taken place if Donald Trump had been in the White House.

The statements were made during an interview on entrepreneur Patrick Bet-David's podcast, recorded at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem.

Netanyahu explained that, in his view, with Trump in the presidency "Iran would have been more careful", although he acknowledged that it is difficult to predict the behavior of what he described as "these maniacs".

He emphasized that Tehran, the main supporter of Hamas and other armed groups, might not have exercised absolute control over its representatives in the region.

The Israeli leader also recounted tensions with Joe Biden's administration, noting that Washington went so far as to warn him about the possibility of an arms embargo on Israel and pressured him not to order troops to enter Rafah, in southern Gaza.

Netanyahu said that he replied at that time that "Israel will do what it has to do" and personally conveyed to then Secretary of State Antony Blinken that "Israel will fight with its fingernails if necessary".

The prime minister compared the hypothesis of leaving Hamas battalions in Rafah to the idea that the Allies would have allowed Nazi troops to continue operating in Berlin after World War II.

Nevertheless, Netanyahu also acknowledged that Biden provided immediate support to Israel after the October 7 attack, although in his view his stance changed "as the war progressed and smear campaigns against Israel increased in the international media".

During the interview, Netanyahu praised Trump for having sanctioned officials of the International Criminal Court, whom he described as corrupt, highlighting his direct style: "That's what I like about him, he gets straight to the point".

It should be recalled that Trump himself had already previously stated that the October 7 attacks would not have occurred under his presidency.

The Israeli head of government also referred to the history of the Jewish people, noting that one of its great tragedies was that in the first half of the 20th century the United States was not yet a global power, which allowed the outbreak of World War II and, with it, the Shoah.

In contrast, he emphasized that after the war, with the emergence of Israel and American leadership on the world stage, "our history changed: we are no longer massacred with impunity".